The migrational phenomenon taking place in Europe is not a simple movement of individuals or groups. We are witnessing a re-organisation of the world's population, driven by economic, demographic and political factors, which will remain in the medium term. Unequal international economic development, the growing gap between affluent and poor areas, a demographic boom in the poor countries and falling birth rates in industrialised nations, war and ethnic and religious conflict - these are the motors driving this phenomenon. Phenomena on this scale can not be limited by strengthening borders, they must be managed. The emergence of a multiethnic society is not a choice, but the inescapable future of Europe. The problem, the challenge of single nation states, and of Europe as a whole, concerns the realisation of this society. This all makes the question of law central, that is the rules which control the entry, stabilisation, rights and duties of the immigrants. Again this is a European question which will soon have a Community legal definition. The law is a jurists' thing (lawyers, magistrates, consultants, legal experts, university professors) but it concerns all citizens and involves the activity of many subjects who work in the immigration sector (associations, municipal and regional local authorities, trade unions, schools, public offices). For this reason magistraturademocratica and the ASGI (Association for the Legal Studies on Immigration) joined forces to establish this journal, intended as a means of information and a tool for in-depth analysis of immigration issues, and targeted at operators who work within the sector but are not separated from society at large. In keeping with the outlook of the associations promoting it, Law, Immigration and Citizenship (Diritto, immigrazione e cittadinanza) was founded with a set of clear presuppositions: it will not be a neutral journal; it will take a side, the side of the law, of equality, integration and respect for diversity.